Raising Berry
by krustykrabpizza
Summary: Ever since losing Beth, there has been a void in Puck's life. He's using Rachel to fill that void, but is it in the way she would like? Multi-chapter
1. Chapter 1

**I started this fic on a whim, so I'm not too invested in it, although I do plan to continue it with a couple chapters. I don't ship Puckleberry that hard, but I think it might be growing on me. It must be the lack of St. Berry.**

**Reviews = faster chapters. True facts. My middle name isn't 'honest' for nothing. Well okay, its actually Rose, but you get my point.**

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><p>Puck had lost Beth. That was a fact he had tried to overlook, but always found crashing back down on him with a surprising force at nighttime. No one was around, as usual, so he cried. He would deny it if you asked him about it, but he cried nonetheless. He hadn't loved anything else except Quinn, and maybe his mother and sister. But Quinn, and Beth, and him. They could have had it all.<p>

He pictured them living in upstate New York. Quinn would be a magazine editor, as her clothes and hair were always styled to perfection. Beth would be in private school, only the best for his little girl. He himself would be doing whatever he could to support his family. Whether it be an assortment of odd jobs or playing guitar on the subway for an extra dollar. They would get by because they loved each other.

This dream wasn't a reality, however. Beth was off with Shelby; neither Quinn nor Puck had seen her since the day she was born, yet another reason he cried. Quinn had left Puck for Sam, then for Finn. She seemed happy and that was all Puck could hope for at this point. Quinn had been through a lot, and Puck would make sure that she was happy, even if that meant watching her be with his ex-best friend. It would be worth it to see her perfect smile. That smile. Reason number 397 that Puck cried.

The only good that came out of his depression however, was the unexpected friendship of a one Rachel Berry. Sure, they had always known each other and sometimes even acknowledged the other in the hallway, but they had something real this time.

Rachel, after all, had been the one to find Puck, pills in hand, on the side of the road, about to give up completely. Puck didn't know how he happened to even be on the street, but later began to appreciate it when Rachel pulled over and drove him home. She stayed with him the entire night without his family knowing. It was nothing sexual, she just lay with him on his mattress. Puck slept and Rachel soothed. That was the routine, and lately, it had been happening more and more.

It was this day, a year ago, that Beth was born. This called for an extra dose of tears tonight, and Rachel was ready, already driving over to the Puckerman's house. Puck greeted her with a hug and a peck on the cheek, tears already pooling at the bottom of his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"There, there." Rachel cooed, leading Puck over to his bed and settling down with him. Yes, she cared about Puck's happiness, but she would admit, she mostly liked getting closer with him. She'd been crushing on him from afar for a while now. She liked how he lit up during a Glee club performance. She liked how he genuinely cared for Quinn, even though he didn't like to show it. Rachel wasn't to keen on Quinn herself, but she liked to picture herself in Quinn's wedge heels. What she wouldn't do for Puck to look at her like that.

She was startled out of her thought process, however, by a wheezing Puck. She would have much rather listened to Puck talk about what he was feeling instead of huffing and puffing. She wanted to help him out as much as she could, and she didn't know if she could do that by simply petting his mohawk.


	2. Chapter 2

**I would make some clever excuse for neglecting this fic, but in reality, I have none. Please forgive me, I really enjoy writing this!**

**Reviews are good. I like good things. ;)**

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><p>Puck's all but peaceful slumber was interrupted by his sister obnoxiously yanking open the blinds to his bedroom, revealing such a harsh stream of sunlight that Puck found himself actually swearing at his sister, something which he had long promised never to do.<p>

"What was that for, you brat?" He spat, sitting up on his mattress, still covered in a holy quilt that passed for a comforter.

"It's 3pm, _Noah. _Maybe you wouldn't be sleeping like a baby -drool and all- if you hadn't been up until 4am with some _girl _annoying me half to death with your sobs. You're such a _baby." _She answered coldly, obviously still bitter that her sleep had been disturbed.

_Crap. _Puck had forgotten that Rachel had been there practically all night with him. What did his mother think? It's not like they had _done _anything, but Puck was apprehensive about what was being thought about him nonetheless.

"You didn't have to _listen, _Julie. You're a snoop. Get out of my room and go play with your dolls or whatever the heck 11 year old girls do." He countered in a disgruntled voice. If there was anything he didn't need, that was more people meddling in his business. Julie didn't understand anything, and Puck's sorrows were no exception. More and more, he found himself believing that Rachel was the only one who could understand anything about him. Sure, she hadn't gone through an experience anything like what Puck was going through, but at least she didn't _act _like she did. People were phonies.

Julie huffed and puffed but eventually left Puck to his own devices. He let out a sigh of relief as he heard his door shut behind his sister. He closed his eyes once again, buried himself deeper under his blanket, and tried with all of his might to fall back into the safe haven of sleep.

Much to Puck's obvious dismay, sleep evaded him. He couldn't stop thinking about Quinn and Beth (which was normal), but he also couldn't stop thinking about a certain petite brunette that seemed to be becoming a prominent aspect of his teenage life. He wasn't sure he liked this new epiphany he had, but he would come to terms with it. He would come to terms with his friendly feelings toward Rachel. He would come to terms that he would never be successful. Something he didn't think he could come to terms with, however, was how he wouldn't have the perfect family with Quinn.

He thought back to the night before. He remembered Rachel arriving, but he didn't remember her leaving. He remembered Rachel comforting him in a way that warmed his insides. He remembered feeling loved, at least as a friend. He remembered having a drink or two before Rachel - _Oh my God._

Puck whipped off his comforter as the events of last night suddenly rushed into his brain like a waterfall; unexpected and rather unpleasant.

It had started with Rachel simply holding Puck close to her, while he unceremoniously cried his eyes out. Things didn't stay this, ah, _platonic, _however, as Puck remembered that the two had shared a kiss, or two, or _three. _If there were more, Puck certainly couldn't remember due to the cloud of alcohol in his head like a roadblock, or that he unintentionally shoved the memory into a drawer buried deep in the recesses of his mind.

Puck didn't have _feelings _for Rachel. None more than one would have for a best friend or a sister, but he couldn't help but feel a little tingle in his stomach (or perhaps his groin) that he usually accompanied with Quinn when he thought of Rachel's smooth lips connecting with his own chapped ones.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two chapters in two days? Props to me. But even more props to you for reading. Thank you so, so much.**

**Although I do very much appreciate all of your subscriptions, I would really like it if you could take the time to write a quick review of sorts. I love feedback, and constructive criticism is always welcome! (:**

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><p>Rachel usually woke up at crisp, bright seven, but due to her stay at the Puckerman's the night before, she awoke at 2 PM, much to her parent's surprise. Even more to their surprise, however, was how chipper Rachel was. Yes, she was normally very vivacious, but this morning seemed to grace a whole other level of Rachel-ness. This wasn't unpleasant though, so Leroy and Hiram just smiled as Rachel fluttered about the kitchen in her pink pajamas, pecking the two of them on the cheek as she passed them.<p>

Rachel had a tendency to make a situation more than it really was. Yes, she knew that Puck was intoxicated when she'd stolen a kiss, she'd smelled it from the minute she entered his house, but that didn't mean his feelings were at least half genuine, right? How intoxicated did you have to be to lose all judgement whatsoever? Rachel assumed this was a lot, as she would do anything to have Puck like her for _real. _

That was Rachel. Forever stuck in a fairytale; never wanting to leave when everything was perfect, or at least, a _delusion _of perfection.

She would have happily stayed in that moment forever, but her fantasy was interrupted by her phone, which emitted a sharp ring.

She picked up on the second bell, not wanting to seem to eager once she noticed that the caller was none other and Puck himself.

"Hello?" She answered, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that is was in fact, Noah. She had learned this trick from one of her favorite teen magazines.

"Hey, Rachel. It's Puck."

"Oh. Hello, Noah." She said, with faux surprise.

"How, ah...are you?" He said, seemingly unsure of the boundaries of cellular conversation with an alleged make-out partner.

"I'm okay. Just a normal day is all." She said, attempting to tame the joy that had been bubbling inside of her for the hour or so she had been awake.

"Oh." He said, sounding a bit taken aback at her nonchalance.

"Is there something you need, Noah?"

"Well, ah, I was just wondering if we, um, did anything last night? God, that sounds so weird. I mean I kind of remember; things are just a little foggy. Sorry."

Rachel was quiet for a moment or two before she answered; her joy had quickly depleted from the overwhelming level it had been just a few minutes before.

"Oh, um, I don't think so." She said, audibly getting more depressed with each syllable that made its way out of her lips.

She didn't want Puck to know that she had practically spent the hours since their encounter bouncing off the walls. She was on the verge of tears, and this time it was Puck's fault. That was a new one, usually it was Finn's knack for knocking her down that drove her to tears. '_There's always room for new experiences'_ she thought apathetically.

"That's weird. I thought we, ah, kissed?" Puck sounded unsure of himself from the other end of the line.

This struck up a match in Rachel's mind and she was instantly brought back into the high that was young romanticism.

"Actually," She began, her tone revealing some of the emotions she had been so tactically trying to conceal, "I think we might have. I'm not _entirely _sure though. I had a wine cooler or two before I came over." A lie. Rachel hadn't had a drink since the Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza; she was scarred from the hangover that graced her with its presence the following morning. "If we did, which is uncertain at this time and place, do you think you would have enjoyed it?" She asked; ever straight forward and flirty. Rachel Berry in two words.


End file.
